


Wands

by moemachina



Series: Final Fantasy Tarot Deck [3]
Category: Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy X-2
Genre: Drabble, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-25
Updated: 2012-03-25
Packaged: 2017-11-02 12:28:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/368977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moemachina/pseuds/moemachina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a tarot deck, the suit of wands signifies fire, courage, and Cid.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wands

**Ace of Wands: Zidane Tribal (Final Fantasy IX)**

Afterward, Blank passed him an extra slice of carrot cake, but Baku was furious.

"How could you do that, moron? Slapstick! In the middle of the funeral scene!"

"Blank forgot his line. What was I supposed to do?" Zidane asked. "Besides, the audience liked it."

Blank passed him another slice.

"Dammit! This is why you'll never be leading man! You've got no respect for tragedy!" Baku threw down his fork. "The agony of fate! The futile struggle! The parted lovers! The fatal flaw!"

Zidane snorted. "Who wants to be a dead prince when you can be the king of cake?"

  


**Two of Wands: Rufus Shinra (Final Fantasy VII)**

Rufus Shinra was asleep at his desk when Tseng arrived. The Turk hesitated a moment before delicately coughing.

"Ah, Tseng," Rufus said as he straightened, immediately awake and crisp.

"Hojo's report, sir."

Rufus took the folder. "And my other orders?"

"The executive board is working on the plans for Junon now, sir."

"Any objections?"

"There was some...surprise about the shift in plans," Tseng said tonelessly.

Rufus smiled, and his smile had nothing sleepy or unfocused about it. "Good thing I have such perceptive civil servants, Tseng. I'd hate to keep sending out the Turks as my persuasive midnight ambassadors."

  


**Three of Wands: Cid (Final Fantasy II)**

"And then, of course, I would have a whole line of captains in Cid's Air Fleet. I'm thinking of dressing them in red coats with gold trim. You know, something fancy."

Braced against the airship's rail, Firion only dimly heard the captain's words because he was trying not to throw up. In contrast, Cid seemed indifferent to his ship's wild rolls and shuddering drops as he explained his long-term corporate plans.

Firion swallowed determinedly and asked, "So, there will be more of you? In the skies?"

"Oh, yeah, kid. We will be many," Cid said. "I aim to be legion."

  


**Four of Wands: Selphie Tilmitt (Final Fantasy VIII)**

"I am so, so, so glad I passed the SeeD exam with you and Squall. And Nida. Because it is an _honor_."

"Um, thank you," Zell said. "So...were you kicking the bartender a second ago?"

"It's 'cause he won't mix grasshoppers right," she said with a giggle. "Why would you replace vodka with milk? It makes no sense."

"Ah," Zell said, staring at her green drink with mingled alarm and admiration. "How many of those have you had tonight?"

"None of them have been _right_ ," she said, "so I don't think they count."

  


**Five of Wands: LeBlanc (Final Fantasy X-2)**   


Nobody was sure where LeBlanc had learned about motivational workshops.

"--And if you screw up the _next_ mission, you'll get the heel! Now, who's obstructing our goals of self-validation?"

The Syndicate was desperately silent.

"The Gullwings!" LeBlanc hissed. "They keep beating us to spheres! I just...want us to do better. Because we _are_ better. And prettier! And we'll prove it! Even when it seems like he'll never notice..."

"Boss," Ormi said tenderly, "you've done an emotional breakthrough."

She sniffed and wiped her eyes. "Right. Time for trust-building exercises! Logos, go set up the piranha tank!"

  


**Six of Wands: Cidolfas Orlandu (Final Fantasy Tactics)**   


Their men had liberated a cask of fine Zeltennia red during the battle, and Cidolfas Orlandu and Balbanes Beoulve toasted their victory long into the night. From Orlandu's tent, they could see fires in the distance, but the main fighting was long over. The drinking was just beginning.

"To King Denamunda, may he rest in peace!"

"To King Omdolia, that craven moron!"

"To politics, which feasts on our blood!"

"To Ivalice, that demanding bitch-goddess!"

"To Balbanes, that pox-marked whoreson!"

"To Thunder God Cid, that impotent bastard!"

"To tomorrow, and our hangovers!"

Olan sat at their feet and polished Orlandu's armor.

  


**Seven of Wands: Olan Durai (Final Fantasy Tactics)**

For the ride into Golgorand, they yoked him to a blaspheming lunatic. He didn't mind the lunatic's whispered obscenities, but when the poor madman took fright at the noise of the crowd, poor Olan was dragged along in his frantic dash.

Neither of them got very far, and the temple knights impartially beat them both. The crowd cheered as they were dragged back. Olan tried not to blame them for their ignorance, but it was hard.

They told them that if he repented, he would be spared the flames. He nearly laughed.

"What do I have to repent?" he asked.

  


**Eight of Wands: Cid Highwind (Final Fantasy VII)**   


When she woke, the room's only light came from the glow of his cigarette.

"Captain," she slurred. They must have given her drugs.

"Don't try to get up." She couldn't see his face, but his voice was harsh. "Doc says you've got some bad-ass burns."

Her memory seemed patchy, but she could remember-- "...It's over, isn't it? The rocket?"

"Yes," the cigarette said.

"I'm sorry."

"...Shera, why do you always make killin' you so _easy_?"

In the dark, this seemed like more than a rhetorical question. Then he laughed.

"But I always make the wrong choice."

The cigarette went out.

  


**Nine of Wands: Paine (Final Fantasy X-2)**   


The nightmares had woken her, as usual. She opened the window and stuck her head out, closing her eyes against the icy wind.

She wished she could give up the bad dreams -- but then, she had been unable to surrender other things. She had a rosary. She had a reamer. She had a scar.

She needed more hands, she thought, and laughed.

The bedsheets rustled behind her.

"Paine...?" Rikku sat up, hair disheveled. "It's, like...three in the morning, dude."

"Come back to bed, Paine," Yuna mumbled.

She went back to bed, and two sets of arms pulled her down.

  


**Ten of Wands: Tifa Lockhart (Final Fantasy VII)**   


The room was striped gold and beige by the morning light sliding through the window blinds. Opening her eyes, Tifa could hear the thunderous murmur of Midgar -- the rumble of the trains, the hurly-burly of the pedestrians, the distant clamor of alarms -- and with it came the ringing awareness of all her obligations for the day. She was interviewing a new waitress, wasn't she? And hadn't she promised Marlene to attend some sort of recital? And what about the health inspector? Wasn't that today?

"Oh, God," she groaned.

"'swhat?" Cloud mumbled sleepily, his body a warm weight athwart her own.

  


**Page of Wands: Mustadio Bunanza (Final Fantasy Tactics)**   


"What the hell was that?"

Ramza and Agrias had drawn their swords. The trembling innkeeper was prone, waiting for the explosion upstairs to produce something terrible.

Instead, there was the sound of running feet, and Mustadio's head appeared.

"No worries! Just misjudged the sulphur!" he shouted. He was missing his eyebrows.

Agrias and Ramza glanced toward the bewildered innkeeper and moved together.

"Defeated a demon, Mustadio?" she said, at the foot of the stairs.

"Thank God! You've saved us all!" he said, halfway up.

"What? No..." said the deafened Mustadio, but he could get no further before they rushed him.

  


**Knight of Wands: Seifer Almasy**   


_A knight is merciful, generous, and true._

High as he stands, the air is still gritty with sand. All he can see is desert, but he knows the ocean lies beyond it.

And beyond the ocean sits Balamb Garden, which he will destroy.

_A knight is loyal to his king and country._

He can still smell the blood and burnt flesh from torturing his prisoner. He can still smell Edea's perfume.

Everything seems cleaner in movies and dreams.

_A knight champions Good against Evil._

He laughs. He doesn't doubt his sorceress. He isn't crying -- there's just sand in his eye.

  


**Queen of Wands: Eiko Carol (Final Fantasy IX)**  


For Her Highness' sixteenth birthday, mummers performed "I Want To Be Your Canary." Sentimental tragedies were passe, but the play was a childhood favorite of the princess.

That night, she climbed out a window and snuck down to Tantalus' theatre.

The players were roasting potatoes on the roof, where their leader swung her around in a mock-waltz. The castle had paid them in wine, and they drank and sang in equal measure.

The princess was pensive, however. "Do you ever..."

"What?" asked her companion.

"Regret the life you chose?"

"No," Dagger said. "Do you?"

"No," Eiko said, smoothing her skirts.

  


**King of Wands: Gippal (Final Fantasy X-2)**   


"It predicts the future. We think."

"You _think_?" Paine asked.

"We only excavated it last week," Gippal said.

The machine suddenly beeped and printed a slip of paper.

"Oooh," Rikku said. "It says, 'You'll sing hopelessly to the three-headed queen.'"

"Yeah," Gippal said. "Exactly."

"So what's the use of it?" Paine asked.

The machine beeped again.

"'Fight fate with a kiss,'" Yuna read. "But whose fortune is it telling?"

"We're not sure," Gippal said, not looking at her.

The machine beeped again. This time Gippal got to it first, and he would not let them see his fortune.

  



End file.
